MCI professorship awarded to Antje Bierwisch

In recognition of her achievements in research and teaching, her exemplary translation of research achievements into practice and her contributions to the further development of the MCI as well as the higher education sector, the MCI yesterday awarded Prof. Dr. Antje Bierwisch the title of Professor. The appointment as professor was made by MCI Rector Andreas Altmann together with the Vice Chair of the MCI College, Claudia Mössenlechner, and the Head of the Department of Business Administration Online, Maria Rabl. The subsequent inaugural lecture by FH Prof. Antje Bierwisch was dedicated to the topic "Everything remains different. Shaping the future with strategic foresight

Antje Bierwisch, a proven expert in the field of technology and innovation management as well as futurology, started her academic career with a degree in law in Halle-Wittenberg, followed by a degree in political science in Erfurt and doctoral studies in economics and social sciences at the University of Kassel. Her dissertation on "Patents in innovation cooperations - strategic functions, contractual design and requirements for innovation management" bridges the gap between law and economics. Already during her doctoral studies, Antje Bierwisch began her more than 10-year collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) with a special focus on futurology and "foresight" (strategic foresight). Finally, in March 2018, she was brought on as a lecturer in the Department of Business Administration online at MCI. Her research and teaching focuses on innovation and technology management, organisational development, strategic management and corporate foresight.

This brings us full circle to the exciting inaugural lecture on the question of how to shape the future in times of immense and complex global challenges and increasing dynamics. Previous experience, assessments and models or one-dimensional strategic planning are not enough to be prepared for future challenges. The answer lies in "strategic foresight", which means the structured discussion of complex futures within stakeholder groups. In practice, a variety of methods are used for this purpose, which are selected depending on the objectives, time horizon, stakeholders involved and resources. With concrete examples, Antje Bierwisch showed how this multi-method approach can be applied. In the public sector, the goals are to foresee future developments in science, technology, economy, politics and society. However, the methodology can also be applied in the private sector, for example in the strategic tasks of associations, or at the corporate level in strategic management, in research & development or in think tanks.